Driving Sports

Updated: 8:50 pst, January 29, 2010

The first round of the 2010 Rally America Championship rally series, Sno*Drift is the only snow rally on the calendar. Taking place near Atlanta, Michigan, competitors attack 130 stage miles over the span of two days. This year the conditions are particularly icy, and since rally cars are required to follow local laws, studs are not allowed.

Travis Pastrana

In our most recent show we said Travis Pastrana, of the Subaru Rally Team USA, had a broken collarbone and we speculated that it could lead to slower stage times. Turns out we were quite wrong. After Day 1, the shorter of the two days with only 55 Stage miles, the returning champion was leading the event in his Open Class Subaru STI by an enormous 55-second lead. Where you or I may take two aspirin and bear it, Pastrana had two plates and 15 screws installed just a few days before the event.

He is an extreme machine… almost literally at this point, considering all the plates and bolts he’s had installed.

Canadian Champion Anotine L’Estage used his snow experience to his advantage, driving a clean first day for a second place finish. L'Estage even took a win over Pastrana on the penultimate Stage of the day, Avery Lake. Considering this is an event L'Estage won back in 2008, it wouldn’t be surprising if he turns up the volume on day 2 now that he knows what he has to do for a comeback.

The action isn’t just between the factory teams. Privateer William Bacon is applying thorough pressure with excellent times on every Stage. His Evo 9 carried him all the way to a third place overall finish by the end of Day 1. If he can carry this speed through Day 2, it will be quite a start for his rally season.

Early on, Canadian Andrew Comrie-Picard decided to attack the course with snow tires. But, by stage five and several finishes outside the top three, he decided it was a poor choice. Switching to ice treads improved his scores from Stage 5 forward, bumping him into several third place finishes. “It’s like a Luge course,” said the seasoned professional via Twitter. At the end of the day, he successfully secured fourth overall.

BMX star Dave Mirra, who is competing for the first time in Open Class for Subaru Rally Team focused on simply finishing in one piece. Reportedly the team is very happy with his fifth overall position at the end of Day 1.

Antoine L'Estage and Co-Driver Nathalie Richard

Further reports have bumpers and other miscellaneous car parts being torn off and left along the roads. Regional competitor Jeremiah Johnson even joked about taking out a stop sign with his 1994 Subaru.

Ken Block, who posted a DNF in 2009 at this same event and is now fielding a brand new Ford Fiesta rally car for the Monster World Rally Team, has plenty of reasons to take it easy, lest the past catches up with him. Apparently, Block didn’t get that memo: On the first stage, the 7.21-mile McCormick Lake, he laid down the quickest time, almost a second faster than second and third finishers Antoine L’Estage in a Mitsubishi Evo X and Travis Pastrana. By the end of Stage four, Block was solidly in third place overall and putting in solid stage times.

By Stage 7, the tide turned, as Block's Fiesta had a major suspension failure, putting an end to his points rally for the weekend. Though Block is known for his "flat out" style, sources say he was actually driving conservatively, in consideration of the conditions. That said, Andrew Comrie Picard claimed he lost 15 seconds passing a "wedged sideways" Ken Block. Maybe "conservative" was a loose term. Monster Rally Team has the option to return and enter the regional rally on Saturday, for further testing, if he chooses. As of this writing, the team had not yet made an announcement.

Andrew Comrie-Picard

In Super Production Class, Travis Hanson put in a dominating performance with his 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, taking the first four stages. Piotr Wiktorczyk, also in a Super Production Subaru STI, remained in second place throughout the afternoon.

Volkswagen fans will undoubtedly be cheered to hear that the 1990 Volkswagen GTI driven by Chris Duplessis has been not just leading the 2WD pack, it’s also been dominating a large portion of the Super Production field.

Tonight, teams will be repairing what they can, and making adjustments to better adapt their cars to these treacherous road conditions. Many competitors remarked that these are the worst ice conditions they’ve ever had to compete in. If that carries through to tomorrow, this very well may end up being a rally of attrition.

The second and final day of competition starts out of Atlanta at 8:30 am with a ceremonial start. To follow the action live, there are several Twitterers on the ground, posting to the #ra1 hashtag.

Photos courtesy Rally America

Video by gdrozd555 from YouTube

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